Love Is Hopeless
by kayli12
Summary: Sequel to 'Love is Poison.' Takes place during the events of Thor: The Dark World. Please leave reviews!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

Loki had always been good at pretending.

It came naturally to him, and he had only become more adept at deceit as time went on. It had served him well throughout the years. He hated showing weakness, especially in front of his 'father,' Odin. So, he had simply hidden it.

But as he was escorted into the throne room of Asgard, bound in chains and flanked by numerous guards, Loki had a hard time even keeping himself upright. Each step was a task, each breath a heavy burden.

He couldn't get her face out of his mind.

Every time he blinked, he would see Riley in his arms as she took her last breaths. His love, his wife. His entire life.

Gone.

He had never truly realized just how much she'd actually meant to him, not until she had been ripped away from him. He felt so empty, so cold. He knew this wasn't something he could ever hope to recover from. Without her, life was pointless.

Thankfully, he had a feeling his would be ending soon, anyways.

After all Loki had done, Odin would be a fool not to execute him. And not even Odin could be that brainless. Nevertheless, Loki knew he would have to put on a show, to further push the king towards the right decision.

As he came into view of Odin, he summoned his strength and squared his shoulders, holding his head high. He sauntered towards the Allfather, and arrogant expression on his face.

"Loki," he heard a voice to his left, and felt a stab of regret as his eyes fell upon his mother. He remembered their last encounter, when she had helped him obtain a Jotunn book. Though he didn't want to, he knew distancing himself further from his mother would make Odin even angrier.

"Hello, mother," he said with a smirk. "Have I made you proud?"

"Please, don't make this worse," she said, clearly hurt.

"Define worse?"

"Enough!" Odin proclaimed, his voice echoing throughout the room. "I will speak to the prisoner alone."

With one last worried glance at Loki, Frigga turned and left. Perfect. Loki took a couple of steps forward, clicking his feet together mockingly. Then, he forced a laugh. "I really don't see what all the fuss is about."

"Do you truly not feel the gravity of your crimes?" Odin asked. "Wherever you go there is war, ruin...and death."

Loki flinched slightly at the last part, as the image of lifeless brown eyes flashed before him. Hoping Odin hadn't notice, he continued his facade with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I went down to Midgard to rule the people of Earth as a benevolent God. Just like you."

"We are not Gods," the Allfather said, shaking his head. "We are born, we live, we die. Just as humans do."

Loki's jaw tightened, but he played it off as a look of mock contemplation. "Give or take 5,000 years," he said with a tight smile.

"All this because Loki desired...a throne."

"It is my birthright," Loki protested, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Your birthrighT," Odin suddenly yelled, putting emphasis on the 'T' for some odd reason. "Was to die! As a child. Cast out onto a frozen rock. If I had not taken you in, you would not be here now to hate me."

Loki had had enough of this pointless chat. He took another step forward. "If I am for the axe, then for mercy's sake, just swing it. It's not that I don't love our talks, it's just...I don't love them."

"Frigga is the only reason you're still alive, and you will never see her again. You'll spend the rest of your days in the dungeon."

No! Panic swept over Loki as the guards began to pull him away. Desperate, Loki took one last jab. "And what of Thor? You'll make that witless oaf King while I rot in chains?"

"Thor must strive to undo the damage you have done," Odin replied, seeming almost smug. "He'll bring order to the nine realms and then, yes, he will be king."

As the guards dragged Loki away, he resisted the urge to scream. This wasn't how it was supposed to be! Thousands of years, rotting away in a cell with nothing but his regrets and pain to keep him company.

They stuck him in a solitary cell. Loki stood, shaking with all his pent up emotions. Then, he put up an illusion, so it would seem to all that he was angrily pacing his cell. With it in place, Loki fell to his knees and began to cry.

Why? Why couldn't he just die? Why did all of this have to happen?

He should be with Riley right now. He should have just listened to her, simply gone and disappeared with her. The Midgardian throne hadn't been worth it. If he only listened to her, she would still be alive. Or even if he had just stayed with her, and talked things over, instead of storming out and leaving her unprotected.

It was all his fault.

He had failed her. He remembered the black arrow, with the silver and red fletching, and the flash of silver cape. He hadn't even succeeded in avenging his wife's death. He had let the killer escape.

Something about the arrow had seemed so familiar, and a part of his mind screamed for him to remember. But he just couldn't place it.

It came to him, then; why he couldn't die yet. He still had one thing left to do. Right then, he made a vow. He would escape this prison, and before giving into the sweet release of death, he would find Riley's murderer, and he would avenge her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Thirteen months later:**

 _It always starts the same way. The cells around him are empty, and Loki sits on a chair, his head in his hands. Usually, he's crying, but sometimes he's gritting his teeth, trying to fight off the pain. This time, it's the latter._

 _He's tried for so long to keep the pain at bay. Nothing ever seems to really work. He slams his hand again the wall, cursing himself for his weakness. And yet, he doesn't want to forget, he doesn't' want the pain to actually stop. Because the pain reminds him that she was real._

" _Loki," he knows that voice, but something is off. No matter how many times he gets to this part, Loki always feels his breast fill with hope, with pure joy as he sees her standing there._

 _Riley._

 _She wears a dark purple Asgardian dress, that perfectly shows off her lovely curves. Her hair is down, in loose curls, just as he likes it. When she smiles at him, all the pain, all the weariness, simply melts away. Because he's home._

" _Riley," he breaths, reaching out to touch her. But his hand is stopped by the field of energy that keeps him in his cell. He feels a quick stab of disappointment, but shrugs it off. Because she's here, she's alive! And while he longs to hold her in his arms, simply seeing her is enough._

" _Yes, it's me," she places her hand where his is, and once again he wishes the damn force field wasn't in the way. "I miss you."_

 _He closes his eyes, savoring those words. "I've missed you, too," he tells her. "More than you can even imagine."_

" _I never got to tell you," she says, her eyes turning sad. Once again, he feels that something is wrong. "I never got to tell you how I feel."_

 _His heart constricts. He knows what she's going to say. They're the three words that he had been dying to hear since he had first seen her._

 _Sometimes, the dream ends here. But usually, like now, it continues._

 _Riley opens up her mouth, but suddenly there's an arrow in her chest. Blood starts soaking her dress, and she looks at him with tears in her eyes._

 _Then she says it. Not the three words that he wants to hear, but the three words that haunt him._

" _It's your fault."_

* * *

When Loki woke, the pain was white hot. He grasped for it, trying to keep it with him. But it faded away, turning into numbness. Loki sat up in his bed, staring blankly at his feet. The dream is horrible and wonderful all at once. Because he sees her every time he falls asleep, but never to touch, never to keep.

He remembered the feeling he kept getting during the dream. Something had been wrong, He went over the dream a few times before he figured it out: her voice hadn't been right. And then he realized something far worse.

Loki couldn't even remember Riley's voice anymore.

He closed his eyes as the panic set it.

Deep down, he knew it wasn't really that surprising. In fact, it was shocking that he'd held on to those details for so long. It had been thirteen months since he had last seen her. Thirteen months since she'd been killed.

And he was nowhere near to finding her killer.

Of course, Loki had all the time in the world, but he wanted-no, he needed-to find the creature sooner rather than later. He just wanted peace.

Sighing, he stood and walked to the edge of his cell, his hands clasped behind his back. He watched with amusement as the prisoners across from his cell bickered and came to blows. It was pathetic, that he would be entertained by something so brutish and pointless, but there wasn't very much to do in Asgard's prison. It was in dire need of some entertainment. Perhaps he could make the suggestion to Thor, once the blond became King.

Ah, Thor. The one who kept filling these prisons cells. One of the reasons Loki was stuck in this place, instead of out searching. Loki wondered, did Thor even know about Riley? He must know. Surely one of Loki's treacherous servants would have filled Thor in.

For a time, Loki had wondered if perhaps Thor and the other Avengers had something to do with Riley's death, but he had come to the conclusion that it was too dark for them. Riley had just been an innocent girl, one who had even aided them in their escape. No, they hadn't had a part in it.

He did, however, suspect the Rebel group had had a hand in her murder. A part that would have been kept from the Avengers. Loki's face darkened. One thing was certain; he would be having a long talk with 'Jim' in the future.

The door to the prison opened, and Loki watched as a pretty, obviously pregnant, blonde girl was escorted to a cell. He grey eyes stared at the ground in shame. Loki quickly dismissed her as another whore who had been stupid enough to get caught selling her 'wares,' though he felt some pity for her, considering her condition.

He turned away, bored of watching his fellow prisoners. Frigga had recently sent him a few new books, so he picked up the pile on his table and started to sift through them.

When he reached the last one, he gasped and they all tumbled from his hands.

It took him a while to pick the book up, his hands trembling. _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,_ he read silently. The last book of Riley's favorite series, and the only book they had not gotten around to reading together.

His mind reeled at the implications finding this book brought up. This couldn't have been an accident. Frigga had sent these books. Did she know of Riley? If she knew about the _Harry Potter_ books, she would know about it all. Why should she send that book? He refused to believe his mother to be that cruel.

The other, more likely possibility was that someone else had sent the book. The killer? Or an enemy who simply knew too much?

" _It was Quirrell,"_ he heard in his mind, as he remembered all the good times spent reading the series. There it was! Riley's voice! A weight was lifted from his shoulders as the memory of the sound filled his mind.

He turned the book over in his hand. This one was Riley's favorite, he remembered. Over a year ago, he had found her reading it in his library. It was one of the moments that had made him fall in love with her. She had been so concentrated on the book, so deeply immersed in the story. It was one of his favorite memories.

He swallowed past the lump in his throat. He couldn't bear the thought that those moments hadn't been private, that someone had been watching them.

At that moment, he heard a sound behind him, and turned to see Frigga. Or rather, the image of Frigga. Odin forbade her from ever seeing him in person again, so this was the only way for them to communicate.

"Hello, Loki," she greeted him pleasantly. "How are you?"

Loki held the book up, his jaw clenched tightly. "What is this?"

She took a few steps forward, examining the cover. "Well, obviously it's a book," she replied with a hint of sarcasm. "However, it's not one that I sent."

"Then who sent it?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"I don't know-"

"You must know!" He yelled, throwing the book on the ground. Turning his back on Frigga, he struggled to regain his composure. But he just couldn't stop shaking.

"Loki?" The Queen asked hesitantly. "Loki, what's wrong?"

There was a plea in her voice. Frigga had asked that question many times before. It was so tempting to tell her the truth, to have someone to share in his grief. But he couldn't. Even if he could get the words outs, he still knew that whatever he said would be repeated to Odin. And he was sure the Allfather could use that against him.

"I'm fine," he finally said, his voice cold. "As fine as can be expected, considering I'm doomed to rot in this cell for eternity."

"Loki, look at me." So Loki did, turning towards his mother, his face a mask of indifference. She studied him a long moment, before saying anything. "Loki, you can't hide from me. I know something is troubling you. You're in pain. I want to help, but I can't unless you tell me. Please."

"You can't help," he said softly. "Because she's gone, and no one can bring her back."

"Who?" Frigga pressed.

He avoided her searching gaze. "Leave me," he said firmly, signaling the end of the conversation. He knew she wanted to press further, but Frigga knew him well. He would say no more on the matter. So, she gave him a parting smile and faded away.

Frigga would be again tomorrow, he knew. He had said too much for her to let it go.

With a shaky sigh, Loki bent over and picked up the seventh _Harry Potter._ Once, he had been anxious to read this last book, to find out how it ended. But staring at it, he knew he would never be able to finish it. Not without Riley.

He opened the book to the title page and froze as he saw the words written there, in black ink.

 _You let her die._

Underneath the words, a picture was tucked in between the pages. A picture of Riley, pale skinned and laying in a coffin.

Bile rose in his throat, as he fought the urge to throw up. He dropped his gaze, and took deep breaths. He tore the title page out, shredding it to pieces, and then chucked the book against the force field as hard as he could.

The picture he held onto. It was torturous to look at, but he couldn't stop staring down at the image. He'd always wondered what her funeral had been like.

Some people said that the dead looked peaceful, like they were sleeping. But Loki had watched Riley sleep, and it had been nothing like this. No, she didn't look like she was at rest; she looked like an empty shell.

Instead of discarding the picture, he slipped it under his pillow, to remind him of the fury he felt at this moment. He had no doubt now that it had been the killer who had sent him that book, which could only mean one thing:

Riley's murderer was close.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

"Odin continues to bring me new friends. How thoughtful."

Loki stared out as more prisoners filed back. If they kept this up, the cells would soon be filled to the brim. What would Odin do then? Start executing them?

"The books I sent," Frigga said from behind him. "Do they not interest you?"

He turned to face her, his hands still behind his back. There was an unspoken question in her voice. It had been a week since the _Harry Potter_ incident. Though Frigga had given up on asking outright, she was always hinting at it. He had not said anymore on Riley since that day, and he planned on keeping it that way. So, he answered her question with a quip. "Is that how I am to while away eternity? Reading?"

"I've done everything in my power to make you comfortable," his mother replied with a pointed look.

A smart move. She was playing the game, trying to make him reveal some information, no matter how small. But he knew he, and decided to steer the conversation away from dangerous ground. "Have you?" he asked, slightly raising his eyebrows. He leaned across the table towards her, making his voice icy. "Does Odin share your concern?"

She looked surprised, and slightly annoyed, at the shift of topic, so he continued. "Does Thor?" His voice practically dripped with sarcasm. "It must be so inconvenient, them asking after me day and night." He added a regretful shake of his head, for good measure.

"You know full well that _your_ actions brought you here," she couldn't resist saying. She had taken his bait, coming to the defense of her husband and son.

 _Checkmate._ "My actions?" Loki said, waving a hand. He stood up straight, and walked away. _Time to up the ante_. "I was merely giving truth to the lie that I've been fed my entire life. That I was born to be a king."

"A king?" Frigga repeated, her eyebrows shooting up. "A true king admits his faults. What of the lives you took on earth?"

"A mere handful compared to the number Odin has taken himself," he quipped.

"Your father-"

"He's not my father!" Loki snapped, not having to fake the anger.

Frigga stared into his face, her jaw clenching and unclenching as she tried to control her emotions. "Then am I not your mother?"

He let out a short breath. There was only one thing to do. It would keep her from asking anymore questions, but it would also cut her deeply. Loki took a deep breath. "You're not."

The Queen forced a smile, tears in her eyes. She took a step closer to him. "Hm. Always so perceptive about everyone but yourself."

Regret immediately filled him, and he felt moisture in his own eyes. Shaking his head, Loki stepped towards her, and placed his hand on her own upturned palms. But she wasn't really there, and she slowly dissolved.

Loki looked down, closing his eyes. Frigga, the last person he truly cared for, and now he had succeeded in pushing her away.

He sunk into his chair, feeling exhausted. It had to be done, pushing her away. He had decided that long ago, for many reasons. Firstly, he couldn't afford to care for her or anyone anymore. He needed to focus on the task at hand, and she could only be a distractly. Mostly, though, he had done it for her.

He knew Frigga loved him, he had never doubted that. And that was the problem. After Loki had his revenge, that would be it for him. He would not be coming back to Asgard, to his mother. He would die, and he wanted to minimize the damage. After truly knowing what it felt like to lose a loved one, Loki knew he couldn't inflict that kind of pain on anyone else. It killed him to think of the pain he had caused his mother, the time he had disappeared, allowing everyone to believe him dead.

He couldn't do that to her again.

Things were better this way. It was better if Frigga learned to let go of her love for him.

Love never really did any good anyways.

Loki felt his heart sink further as his mind wandered to the place he tried to always stay away from. To what had happened before Riley had died.

He had forgiven her for her betrayal, of course, and he knew he loved her and always would. But he couldn't help wondering if who he had fallen in love with, and who Riley really was, were two separate people.

How much had been a lie?

Of course, no one could have forced or faked the Linking-the ability the male Jotuns had, that would lead them to their 'true love'-so Loki took some comfort in that fact. No one could have predicted that he would Link to Riley, so their first meeting _had_ to have been sincere. But how soon had the Rebels gotten to her? When was their plan set into motion?

Would he ever really know the answers to any of his questions?

He would be able to get a few answers out of 'Jim', he was sure, but there was only so much the rebel could tell him. For the umpteenth time, Loki wished he could talk to Riley. There were so many things he wanted to ask her, so many things he wanted to apologize for.

There was so much he needed to say.

He moved to his bed, closing his eyes. He needed to see her again, even if it was only just a dream. It was still something.

So, he allowed himself to drift off into the world of dreams.

* * *

 _The dream progresses in the usual way. The joy at seeing Riley, the frustration at not being able to touch her. She tells Loki she misses him, and he tells her the same thing. But this time, it's harder to say._

" _I just want you back," he adds, his eyes filling with tears._

 _But she ignores this, and says what she always does. "I never got to tell you. I never go to tell you how I feel."_

 _But before she can tell him, the arrow is in her chest again. He wants to look away, but he can't. He steels himself for the next part, the part where she says the three words he hates._

 _Riley looks at him, but this time there aren't tears in her eyes. This time, she looks at him tenderly. "Wake up. Now."_.

* * *

Loki's eyes flew open. He lay still on his bed, in shock. That had never happened before. He had had the dream dozens of times, and there had only ever been two endings.

Why would dream Riley tell him to wake up?

Loki heard the door to the prison open, and looked to see two guards marching down the halls of the prison, followed closely by a dark haired man. His eyes narrowed; he knew that man...His face was so familiar.

He watched, putting up an illusion the make him seem asleep, as the three walked up to the cell of the pregnant blonde girl who had been brought in a week ago. He stood, getting as close as he could. What was going on? It was the middle of the night, rather late to be visiting a prisoner.

"Where are you taking the prisoner?" One of the guards asked the man.

The man stared at the man. "That information is classified."

The guard shifted uncomfortably, glancing over the other guard. "Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow, to confirm the king's orders."

"You know who I am," the man snapped. "The king ordered me to transfer the prisoner tonight. You wouldn't want to disobey him, would you? I'm sure he won't be very pleased."

That was the moment that everything fell into place.

The man was Odin's personal assassin. Loki hadn't ever formally met the man, but he had seen him occasionally, and had heard of him.

He didn't know much, but there was one thing that was burned into his memory.

Odin's assassin had a signature, something that marked his targets.

A black shafted arrow, with red and silver fletching.

It all made sense now. He had finally found Riley's killer.

It was Odin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

Loki stood, dumbfounded, as he processed the new information. Of course, it had been Odin, it was painfully obvious now. Loki had imprisoned Thor, Odin's favorite son, had embarrassed him. So Odin had gotten his revenge, killing the one person Loki actually needed.

And yet, despite all that Odin had done in the past, Loki still couldn't believe he was capable of such a heinous act.

Riley had been an _innocent._ She had never done anything wrong!

How did Odin even find out about her? Loki had carefully kept Riley hidden. _It must have been 'Jim',_ he realized, clenching his jaw tightly. He didn't know everything about how the Avengers had been freed, but he had heard that Sif and the Warriors Three had something to do with it. The Rebels must have been in contact with the Asgardians the entire time.

Jim had much to answer for. Once he found the rebel leader, Loki would make sure the remainder of his life would be filled with agony.

It was possible that Jim hadn't known anything about her assassination, but he was the one who had told Odin. It didn't matter if he hadn't meant for Riley to die, he had been the one to cause it.

Who else had known? Who else had been in on it? Not Thor, Loki knew that. He knew Thor well, and while he wasn't very bright, he was a good man. He would never hurt an innocent girl, let alone kill her.

The more Loki pondered it, the more he felt that it had only been between Odin and the assassin, probably Jim as well. Jim was the only one who had known the location of the villa, after all.

He would kill them all, starting with Odin. Loki envisioned all the ways he could kill the king, each scenario darker and more brutal than the last. To think, he had once considered that bastard his father.

He grabbed the nearest object, an empty vase, and flung it at the cell wall. It shattered into dozens of gleaming black pieces, but that wasn't enough to satisfy Loki. He was a whirlwind, snatching anything he could find, tables, a chair, books, and throwing them around the room. Minutes later, he stood in the middle of the wrecked room, his chest heaving. His vision, once white hot, faded back to normal as his heart sunk in his chest. There was still rage for Odin, but a new feeling filled Loki's being.

Pure guilt.

It was true. Riley really had died because of _him._ It was all of his fault. The only reason for Riley's death was Loki. He had suspected this for a year, but somehow having it confirmed was worse.

Loki moved towards his bed, the only piece of furniture in the room that remained upright, and slipped out Riley's picture from underneath the pillow. He hated the picture of her corpse, but it was all he had. He clenched it tightly in his hands. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry." He wasn't just thinking of Riley when he said it. In his mind, he saw the faces of those she cared about; Janet and Airi. How empty their lives must be without her. The universe seemed empty without Riley.

What would have happened if Loki had never interfered with Riley's life? What if he had stayed away from Midgard? Riley would be at a college right now, perhaps complaining about homework assignments and foolish mortal boys. She could be happy. Instead, she was six feet underground.

Everyone involved with her death would suffer, and Odin's would be the second most painful. The worst, he decided, he would reserve for himself. He wasn't sure exactly how, but Loki would make sure that his own was the most excruciating. He deserved it.

Clutching the photograph tightly to his chest, Loki laid back on his bed. He didn't sleep that night.

Instead, he began to plan his revenge.

* * *

The next morning, Loki still hadn't figured out a way to escape from his cell.

He has stayed up all night, pacing his cell impatiently and racking his brains over and over again.

Finally, he made a decision. He would tell his mother the truth. He would tell her everything, about Riley, about Odin. He knew his mother would not release him, but it would win him some sympathy from the queen. And more importantly, he knew Frigga would be furious with Odin. Odin had taken away Loki's love, so Loki would start off by repaying the favor.

Now all there was left to do was wait. After the last visit, Loki knew it would be a while before the queen would visit again. But she would come. She always did.

Loki wondered how exactly Frigga would react. What would she say? How would it feel to finally talk to someone about what had transpired? Though he would never admit it, Loki was scared of her reaction. He didn't want to see the pity he knew would be in her eyes. He didn't want to see the disgust. Surely his mother would see that the fault was also his. Oh well, he told himself. It didn't matter. No one could hate him as much as he hated himself.

He laid in his bed, tossing a cup in the air, trying to keep the darkness at bay. Loki needed to compose himself before his mother's visit. He needed to control his emotions, instead of letting them control him. It was the only way he would be able to think logically, the only way he would be able to formulate a plan.

Suddenly a loud whooshing sound filled the prison, followed by the sound of prisoners banging against the cell walls. He stopped tossing the cup, his eyebrows twitching together. The lights flickered.

Loki sat up, moving towards the cell walls. He could scarcely believe his eyes. A tall, brutish figure stood in the halls, facing down two guards. The brute defeated them easily, ignoring the sword sticking out of his shoulder and vaporizing the guards.

The brute moved towards another cell, hitting the force field with his fists. To Loki's surprise, the force field immediately disintegrated, allowing the prisoners to escape. Guards came rushing down the staircase, and soon the prisoners were locked in a skirmish.

His breath caught in his throat. This was it! This was Loki's chance to be free! After breaking a few more prisoners out, the brute approached Loki's cell. Loki met the beast's intense gaze with his own. His face was a perfect mask, and his shoulders were squared. He wanted to show this beast that he was a capable ally, worthy of being free. A small smile played upon his lips as the brute stepped closer to his cell.

 _That's it,_ Loki thought. _Free me._

The beast lifted his arm and then paused. _No!_ Loki felt a stab of anger as the beast grunted and turned to leave. Loki's mind raced as he watched his chance slipped away. He had to do something!

"You might want to take the stairs to the left," Loki found himself saying. The stairs would lead the creature to the royal bedchambers, lead him to Odin. Immediately, Loki wanted to take it back. He didn't want someone else taking Odin's life! That honor was _his._ He watched the beast leave with trepidation. Oh well. It was doubtful that the creature would be able to kill the king of Asgard. Loki only hoped the beast would do some damage, maybe take Odin's other eye.

Loki heaved a sigh, and then noticed his former friends, Fandral and Volstagg enter the battle. He rolled his eyes. Of course the two buffoons would come running at the chance to fight. He grabbed a book and leaned up against a wall in his cell, trying to ignore the battle raging in the halls. It was of little concern to him. His chance was gone. His waiting would have to continue.

After a few moments, Thor entered the fray. Loki glanced up from his book, his eyes widening slightly. He hadn't seen his former brother in over a year, not since Thor had escaped and captured Loki. Thor looked well, the same big, dumb oaf that he had always been. Loki would never admit it, but he was glad to see his brother. Sometimes he missed the old days when they would confide in each other. What would Thor say if he knew of Riley?

Loki looked away, silently berating himself. Thor was not his ally, and never would be. Even if Loki told Thor the truth, the God of Thunder would never believe him. Not after all of the lies Loki had told in the past.

No, Frigga was his only hope.

 **A/N: I know it's been forever since I've posted! I'm hoping to get back to writing this fic regularly. I'm so sorry that it's been so long!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

To Loki's disappointment, the hallway brawl didn't last very long. Soon, Thor had the prisoners back in their cells, and the fight continued elsewhere. Occasionally a loud _bang_ would sound and the whole building would shake. This must be a much more serious attack than Loki had previously assumed.

At first Loki didn't pay that unseen battle much mind, but then...then something changed. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something seemed _wrong._ He paced up and down his cell, wishing he knew what was going on. He decided to ask the guards about the battle when they returned, but they were still absent. The noises of battle had stopped hours ago. What was taking them so long?

 _You know what they say, the pot doesn't boil when you stare at it,_ he thought. He picked up the book he had been pretending to read earlier, and actually put some real effort into reading it. It was a history book, but it was actually rather fascinating.

"Loki."

Loki looked to his left, where a guard was standing outside of his cell, a helmet in hand. _No._ Somehow, Loki knew what would come next.

"The queen," the guard said. "Your mother...she was killed during the battle."

It was as if the breath had been driven from his body. Unable to speak, Loki inclined his head, dismissing the guard.

For the next few moments everything faded away. He heard nothing, saw nothing, felt nothing. The first thing he became aware of was his heart, thumping away in his chest. The sound of it echoed in his ears.

It was a sound he had grown to hate.

He sunk slowly to to the ground. Why? Why did _his_ heart continue ticking when the hearts of those he loved had stopped? His chest burned, with loathing or pain, he didn't know. He screamed in agony.

The last conversation he had had with his mother replayed in his head, and he knew his last words would haunt him forever.

" _Then am I not your mother?"_

" _You're not."_

They were words that he would never be able to take back, words that he could never remedy. How could he have been so cruel to the one woman who had loved him unconditionally, the woman who had hope in him through all of his mistakes?

He hugged his knees to his chest, burying his face in his arms, and cried until sleep overtook him.

 **A/N: So I haven't updated in forever, and this is SUPER short. I really want to finish this project for all of you awesome followers! I'm working on the next chapter, which should be MUCH longer. Love y'all!**


End file.
